In life-threatening situation, Portman inspired by 'Lethal Weapon 2

Yahoo! News highlights an anecdote Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), whose name is out there as a potential No. 2 to Mitt Romney, recently shared with the AP.

Finding himself in the middle of an intense kayaking accident, Portman saved himself from drowning using a little technique he picked up from Martin Riggs, lead character in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989):

In Chile early this year, powerful rapids flipped his kayak over, dislocating his right shoulder.

"I had to get out of the boat because I'm underwater, bouncing down the rapids, and getting hit by a number of rocks all over my body. And I couldn't use my right arm," Portman said.

His son Will's kayak had already disappeared around a bend ahead of him, so no one knew of his plight. The 56-year-old senator got behind a large rock, holding on "for my dear life" with his left hand, wondering how to reach shore with one arm working.

"That was pretty scary," he said.

Portman said he thought of the 1989 movie "Lethal Weapon 2," when the Gibson character escapes a straitjacket by intentionally dislocating his shoulder, then gets it back in place by crashing against a file cabinet.

"Honestly, that was what flashed through my mind — Mel Gibson. So I took my shoulder, slammed it against the rock, and the shoulder popped in. I couldn't feel my arm, but I could use my arm. I was able to swim to shore."

I submit that this be an overriding factor Romney consider when deciding on his running mate: Can he or she cheat death with skills learned from an awful '80s action film?

[Yahoo! News]